“It’s a thank you for treating my injury. You should stay at our place.”
I gratefully accepted the invitation from June, the mother of the black panther siblings.
Setting up a Japanese-made tent in this small, remote village was a bit bewildering, so her offer was a godsend.
Having earned a decent amount in the feline beastman village, both my wallet and mood were warm and content.
“This way, big brother Tohma!”
I was guided by the girl, who laughed cheerfully. At the end of the path, there was a magnificent treehouse.
The surrounding trees served as pillars in all directions, and a small hut was built high up in the branches.
“Wow, this is amazing.”
It was more than two meters high, and I couldn’t see any stairs. Instead, a rope ladder woven from vines hung down, likely the way up.
“The black panther tribe is good at climbing trees. We, unlike lions or tigers, aren’t particularly strong. So, we build our homes in the trees for self-defense,” June said proudly.
That made sense. And I was genuinely excited. After all, it was a treehouse! No outdoor-loving guy could not get excited.
“Indeed, with this height, wolves or boas can’t climb up. It’s a good house.”
“Well, it wouldn’t work against bears,” June said, laughing lightly.
Bears can climb trees, so it was understandable to feel a bit uneasy. Larger beast monsters like bears might find climbing difficult, but in such cases, they would likely knock the whole house down, as we saw with the black wolf earlier.
“Big brother, let’s go!”
“Wow, as expected from a black panther.”
I was impressed as the little girl effortlessly climbed the rope ladder. Both August and June easily scaled the tree without even using the rope.
“Tohma, can you climb?”
“Well, I do have some elven blood in me.”
Using parkour-like skills, I kicked off the ground and stepped onto a thick branch.
“Here we go. Excuse me.”
“Heh, as expected. Nice job.”
“…Did you just test me?”
“Oops, sorry, sorry. It’s rare to meet an elf living so deep in the forest, so I was curious about what kind of person you are.”
“Really… Are elves so rare?”
I felt a little concerned. I had planned to travel this world disguised as either an elf or half-elf.
June laughed off my worry.
“They’re rare in this village, that’s all. There are a lot of eccentric elves. Many elves live in cities as adventurers or healers, from what I’ve heard.”
“I see.”
I felt relieved.
August tilted her head in confusion.
“Tohma, you’re a half-elf, right? Don’t you know much about elves?”
Sharp.
I gave a slightly troubled smile and looked down a bit.
“I was raised by my human mother in a human village, so I don’t know much about pure elves.”
“I see.”
“Hey, August, stop with the unnecessary questions. There are various reasons, you know?”
It was a bit of an exaggerated act, but June understood the situation. The half-elf backstory had come in handy here.
In her mind, I was probably seen as a pitiful child from a single-parent household, abandoned by my father.
“Anyway, enough about that! The house is small, but relax and make yourself at home.”
“Ah, thank you.”
The wooden hut had a roof made from plants that resembled thatch. Perhaps due to the warm climate, the design seemed to prioritize ventilation. The floor was wooden, and there wasn’t much furniture.
It looked like the corner of the room was used as a sleeping area, with several soft furs spread out.
“Tohma, big brother, will you sleep with me and Mei?”
I patted the girl’s head, who innocently asked.
“No, I have my own sleeping spot. I’ll sleep there with Ketsue. Thanks though.”
“Your own sleeping spot? Isn’t it just furs?”
“Ah, I have a small portable bed.”
The curious siblings begged me to show it to them, so I took the cot out of my Item Box.
“Wow! I’ve never seen anything like this before!”
“Wow, this is interesting. It’s not fur, but it’s not hard!”
“Hey, you two. Be quiet! But I understand how you feel. This is really convenient.”
June, too, lifted the foldable cot and sighed in admiration.
She must have been thinking about her adventurer husband while gazing at the lightweight, portable, comfortable bed.
“With this, you could sleep even on wet ground.”
“The hard ground is more stable, but it can work in slightly softer spots too. It’s a bit bulky to carry around though.”
“Is this for sale?”
“Unfortunately, this is the only one.”
The specially-made outdoor gear blessed by the creator god wasn’t something I planned to sell for any amount of gold coins.
“Why not make something similar yourselves?”
“Huh? Is that okay?”
“Yes. This isn’t a product for sale.”
“Is that so? I think it could sell though…”
Muttering about how it was a waste, June served us some tea. She said it was herbal tea made from herbs she had picked in the forest. It smelled like mint.
There was also a small kitchen inside the treehouse, with a magic stove set up.
“I boil water at home, but for cooking, we use the shared stove outside. Fire’s dangerous, you know. This magic stove was something my husband found in a dungeon.”
“Wow, that’s a rare drop.”
It was a small stove, only big enough to heat up a small pot, but it was said to be worth two gold coins.
“This tastes bad…”
“The fruit juice earlier was delicious though.”
It seemed the mint-flavored herbal tea was unpopular with the kids. Well, it’s not an easy taste to get used to for someone like me, who’s used to drinking unsweetened tea.
I dropped a spoonful of honey I took from my Item Box into their cups.
“This should make it easier to drink.”
“Wow, you’re right! It’s sweet and tasty!”
“Would you like some, too, June?”
“Is it okay? I thought it was for sale.”
“It’s for personal use. Ketsue, come here. I’ll give you some hot milk.”
I placed some cookies I bought from a 100-yen shop onto a wooden plate, and we all shared them.
The rich taste of butter and sugar seemed to have thoroughly charmed the black panther family.
◆◇◆
“Delicious! I didn’t know deer meat could have such a deep flavor!”
“It’s a bit spicy, but the meat is yummy!”
“…!”
For dinner, I decided to cook with June’s family.
June prepared the soup and bread, while I handled the main meat dish.
Since I heard they only had dried meat, due to not being able to go hunting recently, I decided to make the most of it and have some delicious meat.
After hunting extensively deep in the Great Forest and in dungeons, I had plenty of meat stocked up. I particularly used the abundant wild deer meat to make the dinner.
I made sautéed deer meat with garlic butter. The side dishes included mashed potatoes fried in olive oil, glazed carrots, and boiled broccoli.
“Yeah, it’s good. Ketsue, do you want seconds? Alright, I’ll cut it up for you, so wait a bit.”
“Meow.”
I petted the tabby cat that was snuggling up to me and cut the sautéed meat into smaller pieces to make it easier to eat.
Ketsue, biting into the meat with small fangs, looked very cute.
The black panther tribe’s little girl, Mei, had tossed her innocence aside and was eagerly devouring the meat.
She had a bit of a wild look, but well, still cute?
Her older brother, August, was silently devouring the deer meat.
With sharp fangs, he tore into it, savoring it without a word.
It seemed that June, their mother, was doing the same.
“I made a lot of it, but they’ve finished it all…”
As expected of beastkin, the deer meat steaks I had piled high disappeared in no time into their bellies.
The siblings, who had initially frowned at the vegetables because they didn’t like them, immediately brightened up once they tasted the fried mashed potatoes.
It seemed they also liked the sweet carrots and ate them all. The broccoli, however, they reluctantly put in their mouths, so perhaps it wasn’t to the children’s liking.
(Next time, I should serve it with some mayonnaise.)
The soup that June made contained dried vegetables and bits of dried meat.
The bread was similar in texture to galette, made from buckwheat flour. It wasn’t bad, but I guess the kids were getting tired of having the same staple food.
After finishing all the deer meat steaks, they completely ignored the soup and bread.
“If you add some jam, it’s not bad. And if you throw some consomme into the soup…”
As I secretly changed the flavor and drank the soup, Mei climbed onto my lap.
It seemed that the keen sense of smell of the beastkin had detected something tasty.
She opened her mouth with a smile, and I could only laugh bitterly.
When I fed her some soup with a spoon, her smile melted into a blissful one.
“Yummy! Why? Mom’s soup tastes different from usual.”
“Ah, I just added a little bit of seasoning from my stock. Here, try this bread too. Do you like apple jam?”
“Mmm! It’s sweet and delicious…”
Mei pressed her little hands to her cheeks, completely enraptured.
The eyes of her mother and brother changed color.
Frightened by their beastly, golden eyes that were now glowing, I quietly offered them both some soup and bread.
“…Would you like to eat?”
